Post for tennis nets



May 23, 1939. I 5 PETERSEN 2,159,633

POST FOR TENNIS NETS Filed April 17, 1936 "2 Sheets-Sheet 1 My igkg y1939- s. H. PETERS-EN POST FOR TENNIS NETS Filed April 17, 1936 2Sheets-Sheet 2 M m 5:22i--iiiaiititkli titisE iiiiiti:

Patented May 23, 1939 I 3 other post or standard.

40 principles involved. i

UNITED STATES PATENT oFrici:

POST 'FO-R TENNIS Samuel HQBetersen, Philadelphia, Ba. Application April17, 1936, Serial No. 74,843 Claims. (01. ails-29 My invention relates tostandards or posts for structure shown in Figures 14, taken'on the linesupporting tennis nets or the like. 5-5 of Figure 3.

A purpose of my invention is to adjustably Figure 6is a fragmentaryvertical 'sectionsimisupport the cable of a net used in games such aslar to Figure 5 but "illustrating two posts for 5 tennis or the like bymechanism including a supporting a net. In this form of my inventioncompression spring,v whereby the resilience due the compression springis located in one post to the spring affords take-up and relief for theand the adjusting mechanism in another post cable. and the rack. and.pinion have been omitted.

A further purpose is to provide a channeled In ppe s, 8 tennis e ed 10tennis net post or standard with a compression p ay games difiiclllty'has be n spring'located within the channel and compresunt d n a t n hnet at a esively connected with a net cable, moving the wired height- Wrain s ra e net spring or pulling upon the cable, as preferr d, t withmoisture, increasing the weight off the net place the cable under therequired tension, baland Cause the Cable o Sag w h owe s the net 5 ancedby a corresponding degree of compression out of position. Unless thecable be slacked in of the spring. preparation for this, there is dangerof pulling A further purpose is to insert a movable cable the cablepests inwardly T m rature o d terminal and surrounding .compressionspring 1510118 also have tendency to p d d 0 W in a vertical standard ofa supporting post tract the steel cable. Both of these conditions and topr t e spring as part of a cable put an uneven strain on the posts n nthe 2o tension system, i cable, sometimes causingpost's to bend on hardA further purpose is t provide rack and pincourts and on grass courts,causing them to shift ion operation for a tension take-up and relief inSoft ground a 170 eah ow d t e netmechanism stretching a tennis. net orthe like. With my q p the Spring tension takes A f rth purpose i tprovide t t care of variationsin weight of the net and length up andrelief tennis net stretcher with ratchet- 0f the cable, making iPossible to keep the net retained rack and piniontightening mechanism.in playing position automat cally at all times- A further purpose is tolocate a compression My invention is c d to Overcoming the spring th track of a rack and pinion difficulties encountered, equalizing thetension tightening mechanism to vary the height of a upon the cable,protecting against shocks and tennis net or the like. maintaining thelevel of the net under all condi- A further purpose is t adju t ttension f tions. I have found that the necessary take-up a net cablefrom one post or standard and to proand resilience in the net can beProvided and vicle resilience a d t k up for variation at the controlledeasily by the use of my mechanism I have preferred to illustrate myinvention by ihvehti'on e app e he e o a tenshovving two embodimentsonly, selecting forms ms court only. bu 15 apphcable to any game inwhich are practical and. effective but which have which is s e tmaintain an Obstadle Such been selected because they well illustrate theas a net in the desired Position- Further purposes will appear n the sejlfi a ard l0 connected with one end ll of a cable l2 Mon and in the015mm for a tennis net l3. The tennis net is suspended Describing inillustration and not in limitation across the approximate middle oftennis com and referring to the drawings: l4 and must have, a certainheight at the center Figure 1 is. a perspective view of a game court i ll to any suitable fixed vertical post or standard ll. wlth my postSupportmg one end of net m At the lower ends [8 and IS the net [3 isconq up0n.the' court nected to the standards [0 and I I by additionalFigure 2 is an enlarged elevation of one form Cords 20 and 2L The Cords20 and 2| prevent hereinafter described. Esoin Figures 1-5 I have shownmy post or stand- 40 IS. The other end I6 of the net cable is attached 0"f e ee 1n sectwni i the not from swinging and assist in holding the IFlgure 3 1s an enlarged sectlonal Plan View net in vertical alignmentabove the court but the taken on the hne 3 0f ure 2. 7 cable 12 carriesthe weight of the net.

Figure 4 is a further enlarged sectional plan Referring morespecifically to one'of the posts View taken on the line 4 --4 of Figure2. or standards shown in Figure 1, Ihave illustrated Figure 5 is anenlarged vertical section of the in enlarged views, Figures 2-5, thedetail s'truc- 55 ture by which the proper position of the net withrespect to the court is obtained. In Figure 2, I have illustrated thestandard or post H) inserted into a sleeve or pocket 22 below the groundlevel 23 of the court I4. The sleeve 22 is shown as screwed into aflanged socket 24 firmly held in place below the ground. The standardII] is thus easily inserted into the socket or removed therefrom.

At 25 the cable |2 passes about a roller 26 journaled at 21 in the upperend of the standard and is then connected to a hook 28 pivoted at 29 tothe upper en-dhere to a shoulder 30- upon a vertically positioned andvertically movable cable terminal, here shown as a rod 3|.

The terminal 3| passes through an upper guide block 32 which in thiscase is vertically movable.

The block is apertured at 33 and is here rigid with a rack 34. The lowerpart of the rack carries a guide block 35 apertured at 36. A collar 31secured to the rod 3| is positioned in the present showing between thetwo guide blocks, initially near to or against thelower block. Itconstitutes a compressing member. The blocks 32 and 35 are preferablyintegral with the rack. The rod 3| passes through and is guided inapertures 33 i and 36.

A compression spring 38 surrounds the terminal 3| and lies between thecollar 3'! and guide block 32, so that, as the rack is moved downwardlythe cable slack is first taken up and then the cable is tightened.coincidently with compression of the spring between the collar andguide block 32 to a pressure corresponding to the tension in the cable.If vertical alignment be otherwise maintained the guides are notnecessary; but if the pull upon the cable is to be effected and adjustedat the same post which carries the spring the latter must abut someportion of the movable compression adjusting member, here,- "someportion of the rack.

is turned by handle 43 and is held in position by latch 44 engagingsuccessive teeth of ratchet 45. The rack travels in a channel ofpreferred rectangular cross-section, at 46, shown as conveniently madeup of two vertically arranged overlapping angle bars 41, 48 whichreceive the back and sides of the rack. This is a mere convenience ofmanufacture to give stiffness and strength and at the same time avoidnecessity for manufacturing or bending a special shape. The angle barsare existing shapes.

The face of the rack is covered by a ligh channel 49. The pinion andratchet are supported in a yoke 5|] shown as bolted to the angle bars at5| andwhich provides bearings 52 and 53 for shaft 42. The front of theyoke is covered at 54.

In Figure 6 standards It! and I? are shown, each of which may be seatedwithin a suitable socket, such for example, as that shown in Figure 2.The rack and pinion have been eliminated.

The standard Hi may be of the same character as seen in Figure 5 forexample, and with the same pulley 26 on shaft-2'! and the same mechanismwithin it except for the omission of the rack and its pinion. Theapertured guide blocks 32, 35' instead of being movable and rigid withthe rack both act as guides alone for the cable terminal 3|, here againshown as a rod. The blocks are fixed to the post. The spring 38surrounds the terminal and lies between one of the blocks, 32 and thecollar 31 secured to the terminal. The collar acts to compress thespring. The terminal passes through the guiding apertures 33 and 36 inthe blocks, compressing the spring in response to the pull upon thecable.

The action of the spring in this instance will be the same as in thestructure of Figures 2-5.

It is not necessary in the structure of Figure 6 to provide a rack tomove the stop 32' as in 'Figure 5, because the positioning and holdingof (with a reel instead of the rack and pinion) is placed in thestandard Ill.

In the illustration, Figure 6, the take-up of the cable takes place atthe post l0 where the end of the cable passes about a reel 55 operatedthrough its shaft 56 and handle 57 as in the case of the pinion. Thereel is held in tightened position by the ratchet 58 and latch 59 as inthe case of the holding devices for the pinion position in Figure 5.

The reel and operating and retaining mechanism are shown as mounted in ayoke 50', covered at 54 similar to the yoke and cover used for thepinion operating and retaining mechanism in Figure 5.

At the top of the post l0 the same type of pulley 26 on shaft 21 may beused as in Figures 2-5 to guide the end of the cable down toward thereel.

The structure of Figure 6 is a very simple and effective one, whosesimplicity makes it quite desirable where two special posts arepermissible, as distinguished from having the entire operating mechanismself-contained, in the one post.

In the event that the structure of Figure 6 be used the lower ends ofthe standards would be the same and would be adapted to easy insertionwithin and removal from sockets placed and fastened into the ground orcement adjacent the middle of the game court.

In both forms the parts of the operating mechanism are almost entirelyenclosed except at the opening" 25' into which the cable is inserted. Byclosing oif the top and sides of the operating mechanism the danger ofany of the parts becoming corroded will be small.

In both forms markings 60 may be used to give actual-or comparativevalues, read against edge of block 32, for example, of compression ofthe spring and of corresponding tension upon the cable.

It will be evident that the operation of the two forms of Figures 2-5and Figure 6 respectively is very much the same notwithstanding that inone case there is movement of one of the two compression members,namely, the compression member nearer to the net to cause compressionpression of the spring, respectively. In both the spring is compressedand the cable is held resiliently, resting as it were upon thecompressed spring. Both take up the tension in the cable or yield tosudden or additionaltension there.

It will be evident that my invention is practiced in any construction inwhich the cable is supported as it were upon or pulls against acompression spring.

It will be evident that the rectangular or channeled cross section,while a convenience, is not essential and the invention may be practicedin various types and forms of post.

While I have referred to the upper tie line of the net as a cablebecause in the best practice tennis nets are stretched at sohigh tensionas to require wire cable, it will be evident that the word cable isintended to cover any type of tie line which sufliciently serves thepurpose required, including nonmetallic tie lines for such uses as donot require the high tension used for up-to-date tennis cables.

I In viewof my invention and disclosure variations and modifications tomeet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident toothers skilled in the art, to obtain all or part of the benefits of myinvention without copyinglthe structure shown.

, Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A pair of. posts for supporting. the cable of a tennis net or thelike, including a compressible spring within and extending generallylongitudinally of one of the posts, a projection connected with thecable and adapted to engage the end of the spring farther from the otherpost, and means for compressing the spring against the projection totighten the cable.

2. A pair of posts for supporting the cable of a tennis net or the like,one of them vertically hollow, a terminal inside said one post extendinglongitudinally thereof and at its upper end connected with the cable, aspring surrounding a longitudinal portion of the terminal and within thehollow post, an interior projection from the post and against whichprojection the spring impinges at its upper end, a second projectioncarried by the terminal and engaged by the spring at the other end, andmeans operative at the other post applying tension to the cable, movingone projection toward the other and coincidentally compressing thespring.

3. A pair of posts for supporting the cable of a tennis net or the like,one of them forming a vertical hollow support, within which the cablepasses, a terminal extending longitudinally of and being movable withinthe support and at one end connected with the cable, a projection ontheterminal at its lower end, a spring about the terminal located withinthe interior of the said one post and upwardly engaged by the pro-\compression spring in the hollow of one post and I extending thereinlongitudinally along a portion cable, a net supported by the cable,connections from the cable through the spring to that compression memberfarther from the net, means for moving one compression member toward theother and coincidentally progressively compressing the spring andprogressively building up tension in thecable and means for retainingthe member with the spring compressed and pulling on the cable.

5. A pair of hollow supporting posts, a compression spring locatedwithin one of the posts and extending within and along the hollowthereof, an interior projection on the said one post downwardly engagingthe upper end of the spring, a net between the posts, a cable andconnections supporting the net, the connections passing through thecompression spring, a compressing member located on the connections at aportion thereof below the spring and upwardly engaging the lower end ofthe spring andmeans located at the other post for applying and holdingtension in the cable.

(3. A pair of supporting posts, a compression spring supported withinone of the posts and extending therein longitudinally along a portion ofthe length thereof, a net between the posts, a cable and connectionssupporting the net, the connections extending beyond the compressionspring, a projection connected with the cable, located at the end of thespring farther from the net, engaging the compression spring and holdingthe cable under tension and the spring under corresponding compressionand adjustable means for setting and holding the extent of tension andthereby the compression.

'7. A pair of supporting posts, a net between them, a cable undertension between the posts, holding up the net and a compression springinside and longitudinally of one of the posts, at its upper endsupported by the post and at its lower end supporting and compressed bythe tension of the cable and in proportion thereto.

8. A tennis net having a cable in combination with a hollow postconnected inside the post with the cable, a compression spring insideand longitudinally of the post in the line of connection, and means foradjustably and concurrently setting the tightness of cable and thecompression of the spring.

9. A post for tennis nets or the like, comprising a hollow verticalchannel member, a spring therein extending longitudinally along aportion of the length thereof, a terminal for a cable, the terminalextending longitudinally through the spring, a compression member on theterminal engaging the lower end of the spring and a second compressionmember rigidly connected to the post and engaging the upper end of thespring in combination with means outside the post for concurrentlytightening the cable and compressing the spring whereby the cable ismaintained under tension provided by the tendency of the spring toexpand and strains on the cable are taken up by further compression ofthe spring.

10. A tennis net having a cable, a post to which the cable is attachedat one end and a second post to which the cable is connected at theother end, a compression spring forming part of the connection, meanswithin the connection engaging that end of the spring farther from thenet, a rack engaging that end of the spring nearer to the net, a pinionengaging the rack, means for turning the pinion to cause compression ofthe spring and tension upon the cable and means for holding the pinionin position.

11. A post for supportingthe cable of a tennis net or the like,comprising a vertical hollow support, a pulley in the upper part of thesupport about which the cable is adapted to pass, a rod verticallypositioned in the support and connected with the cable, a collar on therod, a

spring about the rod above the collar, a rack' engaged by the upper endof the spring, a pinion for operating the rack, a handle by which thepinion is turned to force the rack into compression with the spring tobring tension upon the cable, and latch means for holding the rack inset positions.

12. A post for supporting the cable of a tennis net or the likecomprising a vertical hollow support, a pulley in the upper part of thesupport about which the cable is adated to pass, a rod verticallypositioned in the support and connected with the cable, a collar on therod, a spring about the rod above the collar, a rack having a guide forthe rod and pinion means for moving the rack to compress the springbetween the collar and the guide.

13. A net having a cable, an upright post, a terminal connected with thenet cable, a compression member secured to the terminal, a rack withinthe post, a compression member carried by the rack, a spring engaged atits upper end with the rack compression member and at the lower end bythe compression member of the terminal, a guide carried by the rack, apinion engaging the rack to compress the spring and means for holdingthe spring in compressed position.

14. A tennis net cable, a post comprising a vertically arranged channel,a rack having top and bottom guide portions, and sliding in the channel,a compression spring lying between the guide portions of the rack, a barconnected with the cable and moving in the guides, a collar on the barengaging one end of the spring, the other end of the spring engaging oneof the guide portions and pinion means for shifting the rack to compressthe spring and coincidentally to tighten the cable.

15. A cable for tennis nets and the like, comprising a vertical casing,a pair of guides within the casing, a cable terminal movable within theguides, a compression member on the terminal, a compression springlocated between the terminal and one of the guides whereby tension onthe cable causes compression of the spring, a second post and meanssupported by the second post for placing and holding the cable undertension.

SAMUEL H. PETERSEN.

